WEEK 13 and 14: POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY

Question 1

The Power Elite

Answer 1

a small group of military, industrial and governmental leaders who ultimately control the fate of the United States (C Wright Mills)

• operates as a cohesive unit (same interests and objectives)

Question 2

Domhoff on the power elite

Answer 2

Agreed with Mills that the power elite run the world’s industrialized capitalist nations but stressed the role played by the elites from within

The corporate community

Policy formation organizations (not always people with the most influence in government

The social upper class (not explicitly accounted for in Mill’s theory)

Question 3

Marx Theory on Power (conflict theory)

Answer 3

society is stratified by two unequal classes (the ruling class and the subordinate class)

Question 4

Webers theory on power

Answer 4

society is stratified by unequal classes, status groups and parties

Money and class is multi-dimensional

Money matters but so do ideas and values

Question 5

Bourdieus theory on power

Answer 5

Society is stratified based on forms of capital (social, cultural, economic and symbolic)

Question 6

Elite model on power

Answer 6

Society is ultimately ruled by a small number of people who share a common set of interests

Economic or politically motivated

Question 7

The State

Answer 7

a set of institutions designed to maintain order in a given territory and protect its population from other states

Question 8

Functions of the State

Answer 8

Decision making bodies

Defence and security

A set of laws and enforcement mechanisms

Question 9

Historical mechanisms of state power

Answer 9

Physical restriction of people to one place (eg because they were surrounded by water, mountains

The purpose of the state and gaining more power was achieved through conquest

Military expansion, gaining more territories`

Question 10

Current mechanisms of state power

Answer 10

Territorial state size has become less important than economic and institutional power for the survival and prosperity of states and their societies (used to be bigger = better)

More complex issues than people outside of the state trying to come in and take over, partially due to globalization

Question 11

Depostic Power

Answer 11

state’s ability to undertake action, assert control, and make decisions without needing to negotiate or consult with people in that society

Question 12

Anarchy

Answer 12

Ruled by no one
No form of government in a state or location
Free for all among the people who live there

Question 13

Dictatorship

Answer 13

Ruled by one
One person has nearly total control over making and enforcing laws (eg. North Korea)

Question 14

Monarchy

Answer 14

Ruled by one
Headed by a single member of a royal family (typically queen or king)

Question 15

Authoritarian

Answer 15

Ruled by some
lack of political pluralism, little to no democratic participation and the suppression of any resistance)

Question 16

Fascist

Answer 16

The state controls all media and institutions
Civil and political liberties are limited
Economic freedom is not necessarily restricted
Can still own private property

Authoritatian

Question 17

totalitarian

Answer 17

Complete government control
Surveillance over all aspects of society members

Authoritarian

Question 18

Theocracy

Answer 18

Religion is the tool used by the state to maintain or assert power and control
Most states have theocratic underpinning
(Publicly funded Catholic schools
Christian holidays )

Authoritarian

Question 19

Oligarchy

Answer 19

Broad definition of ruled by some
A regime type where a few people control the state

Authoritarian

Question 20

Communism

Answer 20

Ruled by some
State ownership of social institutions and infrastructure
States’ responsibility to distribute resources accordingly
People have limited liberties
No ownership of private property
In theory, they can be democratic but as it exists, it rarely looks like democracy
Eg. Vietnam (one-party political system, the communist party)

Question 21

Representative Democracy

Answer 21

Liberal and social can also be representative
People vote for and select individuals who then speak for the people in their communities

Question 22

Liberal Democracy

Answer 22

Canada
Significant civil, political and economic liberties and freedoms
Neoliberal ideals

Question 23

Social Democracy

Answer 23

Nordic countries
People have abundant social and political liberties
Economic liberties are limited in some capacity
To offset economic inequality that exists among the people
Welfare states

Question 24

The welfare state

Answer 24

A government that facilitates programs promoting social welfare

A state committed to influencing markets and social forces to achieve greater equality

Originates from the great depression and post-war

Question 25

Pubic Sector (welfare)

Answer 25

government programs and or regulations, but can also be delivered through non-state actors

Run and funded explicitly through the government

Healthcare, insurance, education

Question 26

Private Sector (welfare)

Answer 26

Non-government bodies that provide programs that relate to the welfare of people

Private daycares, mental health services and supports

Question 27

Non Profit/Community Sector (welfare)

Answer 27

an be partially government-funded or privately funded

Grants (partially government)
Donations (private)

Are often subsidized by tax deductions

Incentive people to donate to charity to fund aspects of our welfare system

Can pay for housing, homecare, mental health services etc

Question 28

Informal Sector (welfare)

Answer 28

goods, benefits and services that family members or other informal groups provide for each other (often gendered)

Question 29

Welfare states are shaped by (esping andersen)

Answer 29

How the working class mobilizes

How political groups build coalitions as societies shift

How past reforms shape the institutionalization of preferences and political behaviour

Question 30

Liberal Welfare states

Answer 30

largely markey led with high degrees of stratification

Up to the private sector and economy to deliver welfare provisions

Causes stratification to be high because there is not much state intervention to offset inequalities

Decommodification is low
Because most things are privatized

Question 31

Conservative Welfare states

Answer 31

families are responsible for securing welfare
Eg. women staying at home to care for children

The state will step in to offset some forms of inequality but only when the family is incapable of maintaining the well-being of its members

Decommodification is moderate
Stratification is moderate

Question 32

Social Democratic statess

Answer 32

Sees welfare as a right and the state as responsible for delivering welfare services

Decommodification is high
Welfare is a responsibility

Stratification is low
The government is responsible for offsetting inequalities